Cowboys running back Joseph Randle is being taken 51st overall in drafts, per FantasyPros.com. His backup, oft-injured Darren McFadden, is going 51 spots later at No. 102. That's crazy, if fantasy owners are paying attention to what's happening in training camp.
"He's done a good job the last couple weeks, got a couple carries in the game against San Francisco. We should see him more this weekend - and really the same thing with the other guys," coach Jason Garrett said of McFadden, who has taken significant reps with the first-team offense.
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This has all the marks of a running back by committee situation, especially considering McFadden's extensive injury history, and Randle's inexperience.
Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin thinks this approach will harm Dallas' offense. Last season DeMarco Murray was the NFL's leading rusher, and Irvin says a committee trying to reproduce Murray's numbers won't fly.
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"What it doesn't do is tell the defense to come in and try to stop the run, so we can just filet you like a fish and leave you in the alley," Irvin told the Star-Telegram. "You see what I mean? That's the difference.
"So you would have to establish that you are a great running game and a great running team and three backs at 600 yards won't establish that. I'm just giving you the reality."
If Dallas is seeking a workhorse back to take the bulk of the carries, one name on the free agent market sticks out-Ray Rice.
The off-field baggage he brings is considerable, but several moves the team made this offseason have shown they're willing to overlook that for talent. They signed defensive end Greg Hardy, who was convicted of domestic violence, rookie tackle La'El Collins, who was briefly involved in a murder investigation, and defensive end/linebacker Randy Gregory, who tumbled in the draft because of attitude concerns.
The bigger issue for Rice is probably his poor 2013 season, which preceded missing all of 2014 on suspension. Rice has a longer track record of being successful though, and in Dallas he'd be running behind the best offensive line of 2014.
The problem is it might be too late to integrate Rice into the offense. In praising McFadden, Garrett noted that it's positive to see him getting reps because he's so new to the offense.
"Darren McFadden hasn't been in this system before, so you like to see him out on the practice field."
Rice would be even later to the party, so his chances of getting a shot are thin unless the injury bug bites this committee.
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